Victoria dealing with one-two punch from Harvey

City dealt with high winds, now flooding

VICTORIA, Texas – Slammed by Hurricane Harvey just days ago, the city of Victoria is dealing with the rain the storm dumped too.

On Wednesday, the Guadalupe River continued to spill out of its banks near a historic high.

Harvey’s first punch blew through Victoria over the weekend; now its second punch is flowing through it.

Nich Arias watched the water with some friends. He said they’ve seen worse.

“God willing, we’ll get through this,” Arias said. “We’ve been here before, and we’ll make it through it again. That’s what friends and family do. Stick together, come together.”

RELATED: Victoria police officers stop to fold, store fallen American flag after Harvey pummels city

But the water is another issue for a city that is under a boil-water order and a curfew and most of its traffic lights are out.

Still, the community is pulling together. Volunteers helped city employees hand out water and ice.

“This is where we live,” resident Cory Garcia said. “I mean, we can’t wait for people out of the state or out of town to come and help. We help our own people and our own community.”

Meanwhile, others took precautions with flooding.

READ MORE: 20K without power in Victoria County, boil water notification in effect

Zoltan Gasz waded through his flooded neighborhood to grab some of his electronics and put the rest up clear of the water.

The city’s mayor said the city is used to the river flooding.

“We’re familiar with it,” Mayor Paul Polasek said. “So that part we can handle. It’s just the way things happened so quickly (it) is just so bad.”

The Guadalupe is at 30.75 feet. A major flood stage is after 29.5.@VictoriaPIO pic.twitter.com/3adY1c8j3E

— Garrett Brnger (@BrngerReports) August 30, 2017


About the Authors:

Garrett Brnger is a reporter with KSAT 12.